The Checkout: Recent Episodes
Simon Rentner
Voted "Best Jazz Podcast" in the JazzTimes Critics' Poll for four consecutive years, The Checkout championed the music we call jazz — along the trend lines and on its outer edges. Hosted, produced and curated by Simon Rentner, the show focused on the compelling personal narratives behind today's most exciting artists.Check out the rest of our line up at WBGO Studios.
Mark Guiliana, Randy Weston, Herbie Hancock, Robert Glasper, Abdullah Ibrahim, and Kamasi Washington are the artists featured in this retrospective podcast celebrating the top Jazz Night In America and The Checkout productions over the years.
Winter Jazzfest artist-in-residence Angel Bat Dawid premieres 'Afro-Town Topics: A Mythological Afrofuturist Revue,' and talks about it on The Checkout with Simon Rentner.
As his trio settles in for a week at The Village Vanguard, pianist and composer Vijay Iyer stops by The Checkout to share insights, and a glimmer of hope.
On The Checkout, keyboardist Cory Henry pinpoints the album that marks his rite of passage as an artist.
Michael Bourne interviews Diana Krall and tells stories of Charlie Haden, Dave Brubeck, and Tony Bennett at the Montreal International Jazz Festival.
In 2003, legendary organist Booker T. Jones and pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph met for the first time at WBGO. That studio performance comes to light again as we celebrate the retirement of our own legendary jazz jock, Michael Bourne.
On The Checkout, José James explains why it's finally time for him to release a holiday recording, featuring his takes on Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and Donny Hathaway.
Jazz United host Nate Chinen talks with the members of Sound Prints, including its co-leaders trumpeter Dave Douglas and saxophonist Joe Lovano, for a lively conversation about their latest recording, Other Worlds.
Pianist and singer/songwriter Rachel Eckroth is a musical shapeshifter of the highest order. She speaks with The Checkout's Simon Rentner about her latest recording, 'The Garden.'
Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Melanie Charles joins The Checkout to talk about 'Y'all Don't Really Care About Black Women,' her major-label debut.
Drummer and composer Nate Smith taps into his unique autobiography on his latest album, Kinfolk 2: See The Birds. On this episode of The Checkout, he talks about growing up in Chesapeake, Va., with an unorthodox taste for hard rock.
'Talk Memory' is BadBadNotGood's first album in five years. Bassist Chester Hansen and saxophonist Leland Whitty join The Checkout's Simon Rentner to talk about it.
The Checkout catches up with trumpeter and composer Steph Richards, who unleashes our sense of sound and smell on her latest recordings Supersense and Zephyr.
While the music industry was mostly dormant, Hiromi was busy collaborating with a string quartet, writing new music for her Silver Lining Suite, and performing at the Tokyo Olympics.
Genevieve Artadi talks about her creative partnership with Louis Cole and Faris Ishaq proclaims he's the world's first Nay flute jazz artist.
The electronic artist Mndsgn draws from crossover jazz of the 1970s and '80s on his latest album, 'Rare Pleasure.'
Joe Brent (mandolin) and Sara Caswell (violin) unleash the full potential of their chamber jazz group 9 Horses on their new recording, 'Omegah'
For the last 20 years, Pi Recordings has been a home and haven to the avant-garde, including first-wave members of the AACM. The Checkout catches up with label co-founders Seth Rosner and Yulun Wang, who say the mission is ongoing.
The Checkout discusses 'KIMBROUGH,' an extravagant tribute to an underrated artist, who left us at the end of 2020.
Bassist Paul Bender and keyboardist Simon Mavin speak with Simon Rentner on The Checkout about Hiatus Kaiyote's new album, 'Mood Valiant.'
As we come to the end of Pride Month, The Checkout checks in with Michael Mayo, who talks about embracing his bisexual identity and expressing himself fully on 'Bones,' his Mack Avenue debut.